Back in August officials from the Mississippi Department of Transportation, Kansas City Southern Railway and the Columbus City Council held a public hearing to discuss a proposal to close six Southside railroad crossing while adding safety upgrades to other crossings.
It was a lively debate, as Southside residents crammed into the municipal complex to express their opinion on the proposal. Some supported the idea. Others were adamantly opposed.
In the end, the council decided to drop the matter altogether.
During the course of that hearing, however, Southside resident Andrea Sanders made a point that Allen Pepper, who represented the railroad at the meeting, seemed unable to answer and provide an insight into how the company views its responsibility for the tracks that run through the city.
In their pitch, the officials had presented the proposal as an opportunity to improve safety along that stretch of the railroad.
Sanders was disturbed by that argument.
“I just don’t understand why we’re using the issue of safety to benefit you when safety is something we should all have anyway,” Sanders said, “That’s putting a carrot in front of us and saying, ‘Lo and behold, if there’s anything that happens it’ll be on our heads,’ and that’s just wrong.”
The plan died, but Sanders’ question still lingers.
Earlier this month, Ward 1 councilman Gene Taylor asked Southside residents to let him know if the railroad crossings in the area were in such a state of disrepair as to create a hazard. Taylor said he has had dozens of complaints since making that inquiry.
When contacted about those problems, the railroad said through a prepared statement it is waiting for the city to contact them.
We are dismayed by this attitude.
In August, the railroad showed great enthusiasm for safety improvements along those Southside crossings. Of course, back then, MDOT was going to pay for those improvements.
Now that the railroad faces the prospects of using its own money for those improvements, its zeal for safety appears to have faded.
Let us be very clear on this point. It is the railroad’s responsibility to maintain its rail lines. That burden doesn’t fall on the city, the state or residents of Columbus.
Keeping those crossings safe and in good working order is something the railroad should do of its on volition. It should be considered a cost of doing business.
If Kansas City Southern wants to maintain any sort of reputation as a good corporate citizen, it will attend to this issue promptly.
The citizens of Columbus should not have to be beggars.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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